Loud, Quiet, or Contextual? What European and African Consumer Behaviour Reveals About Status, History and Power

Loud, Quiet, or Contextual?  What European and African Consumer Behaviour Reveals About Status, History and Power

Why does global luxury still treat African consumers as if they haven’t learned “good taste” yet? In this provocative opinion piece, Ray Langa, Group Chief Executive of Leagas Delaney South Africa, dismantles the tired assumption that visible luxury is unsophisticated while European restraint represents refinement. Drawing on decades of consumer psychology research, Langa argues that status signalling isn’t about taste hierarchies but about context: where wealth is entrenched, discretion becomes an insider language; where success…

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Property Investment in Uncertain Times: How to Maximise Returns in a Shifting Economy – Eva August, CEO, Century 21

Property Investment in Uncertain Times: How to Maximise Returns in a Shifting Economy – Eva August, CEO, Century 21

South Africa’s economic environment has rarely felt straightforward, but right now it feels particularly layered. Global trade tensions, domestic fiscal pressures and stubborn unemployment figures have left many buyers and investors hesitant – wondering whether to act or wait. In my experience, hesitation is often where opportunity quietly disappears. The reality is that property has always rewarded those who read the fundamentals rather than the headlines. And right now, the fundamentals are moving in a…

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Railway infrastructure is one of the solutions to Africa’s Trade Expansion – Caroline Trefault, MSC’s Intermodal Africa Manager

Railway infrastructure is one of the solutions to Africa’s Trade Expansion – Caroline Trefault, MSC’s Intermodal Africa Manager

As Africa’s economies continue to diversify and grow at around 4% year-on-year on average, moving goods across the continent is becoming more complex, time-sensitive, and strategically important. Ports are essential gateways for international trade, but the effectiveness of Africa’s trade systems is ultimately determined inland, by how efficiently cargo moves between ports, industrial centres, and consumer markets. Transport infrastructure, including rail, is recognised as crucial to economic development and regional integration in Africa. The United…

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The Precision Transition: Designing Africa’s power systems for reality, not abstraction

The Precision Transition: Designing Africa’s power systems for reality, not abstraction

Last year, I argued in my piece “Lean Carbon, Just Power”, that a limited and temporary increase in African carbon emissions is justified to meet the continent’s urgent electrification needs. That position was not a retreat from climate ambition. It laid out a credible lean-carbon pathway that reconciles power systems development realities with climate arithmetic. The central question remains: not whether emissions must fall, but how much temporary headroom is tolerable to accelerate energy prosperity…

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Three weeks of conflict have tested the logic behind a rand-only portfolio – Harry Scherzer, CEO of Future Forex

Three weeks of conflict have tested the logic behind a rand-only portfolio – Harry Scherzer, CEO of Future Forex

In January, South Africa hosted joint naval exercises off Cape Town with key BRICS Plus members China, Russia and Iran, startling investors. Five weeks later, the Middle East conflict triggered a massive sell-off of the rand, as investors fled the currency, wary of South Africa’s diplomatic and military closeness to a now-warring BRICS partner. Now, with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil moves, markets are spooked, with the price…

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Africa’s Private Capital Market Defies Global Slowdown with Rising Deal Activity and Stronger Exits

Africa’s Private Capital Market Defies Global Slowdown with Rising Deal Activity and Stronger Exits

London – 25th March 2026 – AVCA – the African Private Capital Association today released its 2025 Private Capital Activity in Africa report, revealing that Africa outperformed global private capital trends despite a challenging global environment. Deal activity on the continent expanded by 8% year-on-year (YoY) to 530 transactions, making Africa the only global region to record growth in deal volume. The year also marked one of Africa’s strongest exit cycles on record, signalling improving…

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Africa: Caught in crude’s crossfire by Oxford Economics

Africa: Caught in crude’s crossfire by Oxford Economics

The oil price flux We recently published a Research Briefing in which we discussed the effects of oil price volatility on the global economy, and particularly, should Brent crude oil prices remain at $140 pb for two months. In this scenario, Brent crude oil prices whipsaw to $133 pb in Q2 2026 before dipping to $87 pb in Q3, bringing the full-year average to just over $94 pb in 2026. Over the short term, oil…

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